List of official languages

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
See also: List of languages by the number of countries in which they are recognized as an official language

This is a list of official, or otherwise administratively-recognized, languages of sovereign countries, regions, and supra-national institutions. The article also lists a number of languages which have no administrative mandate as an official language, generally describing these as de-facto official languages.

Official languages of sovereign countries, wholly or partly[]

A[]

Afar:

  • Djibouti (with Arabic, French, Somali)

Afrikaans:

  • Namibia (with English and German)
  • South Africa (with English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu)[1]

Aja-Gbe:

Akan (Akuapem Twi, Asante Twi, Fante):

  • Ghana (a government-sponsored language along with Ewe-Gbe, Dagaare, Dagbani, Dangme, Ga, Gonja, Kasem, Nzema, the official language is English)

Albanian:

  • Albania[2]
  • Kosovo (with Serbian)[a][3]
  • Montenegro (in Ulcinj)[citation needed]
  • North Macedonia (with Macedonian)[4]

Amharic:

Anii:

Arabic (see also List of countries where Arabic is an official language):

  • Algeria (with Berber)
  • Bahrain
  • Chad (with French)
  • Comoros (with French and Comorian)
  • Djibouti (with French)
  • Egypt
  • Eritrea (with Tigrinya and English)
  • Iraq (with Kurdish)[6]
  • Israel (with Hebrew)
  • Jordan
  • Kuwait
  • Lebanon
  • Libya
  • Mali (with Tuareg and French)
  • Mauritania (with several national languages: Fula, Soninke, Wolof)
  • Morocco (with Berber)[7]
  • Niger (with French, Buduma, Fula, Gourmanché, Hausa, Kanuri, Songhay-Zarma, Tamasheq, Tasawaq, Tebu)[8]
  • Oman
  • Palestine
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Somaliland (with English and Somali; independence is disputed)
  • Somalia (with Somali)
  • Sudan (with English)
  • Syria
  • Tunisia
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Yemen

Armenian:

  • Armenia[9]
  • Artsakh[10] (independence disputed)

Assamese:

  • India (with 21 other regional languages, and with English as a link language)

Aymara:

  • Bolivia (with Spanish, Quechua, Guaraní and 33 other languages)[11]
  • Peru (with Spanish and Quechua and other languages)[12]

Azerbaijani:

B[]

Balanta:

  • Senegal (a national language along with Bassari, Bedik, Fula, Hassaniya, Jola, Mandinka, Mandjak, Mankanya, Noon, Safen, Serer, Soninke, Wolof, the official language is French)

Bambara:

  • see Manding
  • Mali (a national language along with Bomu, Bozo, Dogon, Fula, Mamara, Songhay, Soninke, Syenara, Tamasheq, the official language is French)

Bariba:

Basque:

  • Spain (with Spanish)

Bassari:

  • Senegal (a national language along with Balanta, Bedik, Fula, Hassaniya, Jola, Mandinka, Mandjak, Mankanya, Noon, Safen, Serer, Soninke, Wolof, the official language is French)

Bedik:

  • Senegal (a national language along with Balanta, Bassari, Fula, Hassaniya, Jola, Mandinka, Mandjak, Mankanya, Noon, Safen, Serer, Soninke, Wolof, the official language is French)

Belarusian:

  • Belarus (with Russian)[14]

Bengali:

  • Bangladesh[15]
  • India (with 21 other regional languages, and with English as a link language)
  • Sierra Leone[16][17]

Berber:

  • Algeria (with Arabic)[18]
  • Morocco (with Arabic)[7]

Biali:

Bislama:

  • Vanuatu (with English and French)[19]

Boko:

Bomu:

  • Mali (a national language along with Bambara, Bozo, Dogon, Fula, Mamara, Songhay, Soninke, Syenara, Tamasheq, the official language is French)

Bosnian:

  • Bosnia and Herzegovina (with Croatian, Serbian) (de facto)[20]

Bozo:

  • Mali (a national language along with Bambara, Bomu, Dogon, Fula, Mamara, Songhay, Soninke, Syenara, Tamasheq, the official language is French)

Buduma:

Bulgarian:

Burmese:

  • Myanmar (formerly Burma)[22]

C[]

Cantonese:

Catalan:

  • Andorra,[23]
  • Co-official in some autonomous communities of Spain:
    • Balearic Islands
    • Catalonia
    • Valencian Community

Chinese, Mandarin:

Chichewa:

Chirbawe (Sena):

Comorian

  • Comoros (with Arabic and French)

Croatian:

  • Croatia[29]
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina (with Bosnian and Serbian) (de facto)[20]

Czech:

  • Czech Republic
  • Slovakia (legislation states that a person using Czech language at a Slovak institution must be treated as if using Slovak language)

D[]

Dagaare:

  • Ghana (a government-sponsored language along with Akan (Akuapem Twi, Ashante Twi, Fante), Ewe-Gbe, Dagbani, Dangme, Ga, Gonja, Kasem, Nzema, the official language is English)

Dagbani:

  • Ghana (a government-sponsored language along with Akan (Akuapem Twi, Ashante Twi, Fante), Ewe-Gbe, Dagaare, Dangme, Ga, Gonja, Kasem, Nzema, the official language is English)

Dangme

  • Ghana (a government-sponsored language along with Akan (Akuapem Twi, Ashante Twi, Fante), Ewe-Gbe, Dagaare, Dagbani, Ga, Gonja, Kasem, Nzema, the official language is English)

Danish:

  • Denmark
  • Faroe Islands (with Faroese)

Dari:

  • Afghanistan (a local variant of Persian, but defined as "Dari" in the Afghan constitution; together with Pashto)[30]

Dendi:

Dhivehi:

Dioula:

  • see Manding
  • Burkina Faso (a national language along with Fula, Mossi and other languages, the official language is French)

Dogon:

  • Mali (a national language along with Bambara, Bomu, Bozo, Fula, Mamara, Songhay, Soninke, Syenara, Tamasheq, the official language is French)

Dutch:

  • Belgium (official language with French and German)
sole official language in:
  • Flanders
co-official language in:
  • Brussels (with French)
  • The Netherlands (sole official language in every province except Friesland, where West Frisian is co-official and the BES islands, where Papiamento and English are co-official)
    • Aruba (with Papiamento)
    • Curaçao (with Papiamento and English)
    • Sint Maarten (with English)
  • Suriname

Dzongkha:

E[]

English (see also List of countries where English is an official language):

  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Australia
  • The Bahamas
  • Barbados
  • Belize
  • Botswana (but the national language is Tswana)
  • Cameroon (with French)
  • Canada (with French)
    • Ontario (de facto; with limited French)
    • Nova Scotia (de facto; with limited French & Gaelic)
    • New Brunswick (with French)
    • Manitoba (with French)
    • British Columbia (de facto; with limited French)
    • Prince Edward Island (de facto; with limited French)
    • Saskatchewan (de facto; with limited French)
    • Alberta (de facto; with limited French)
    • Newfoundland and Labrador (de facto; with limited French, Innu-aimun, & Inuttut)
    • Northwest Territories (with 10 others)
    • Yukon (with French)
    • Nunavut (with Inuit & French)
  • Curaçao (with Dutch and Papiamento)
  • Dominica
  • Eritrea (with Tigrinya and Arabic)
  • Eswatini (with Swati)
  • Fiji (with Bau Fijian and Hindustani)[33]
  • The Gambia
  • Ghana (with Akan (Akuapem Twi, Ashante Twi, Fante), Ewe-Gbe, Dagaare, Dagbani, Dangme, Ga, Gonja, Kasem, Nzema)
  • Grenada
  • Guyana
  • Hong Kong (with Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese)
  • India (with 22 regional languages)
  • Republic of Ireland ("second official"; with Irish)[34]
  • Jamaica
  • Kenya (with Swahili)
  • Kiribati
  • Lesotho (with Sotho)
  • Liberia
  • Malawi (with Chichewa)
  • Malaysia (de facto official language with Malay; still serves as official and national language with Malay in Sabah and Sarawak)[35]
  • Malta (with Maltese)
  • Marshall Islands (with Marshallese)
  • Mauritius (with French)[36]
  • Micronesia, Federated States of
  • Namibia (Afrikaans, German, and Oshiwambo are spoken regionally)[37]
  • Nauru (with Nauruan)
  • New Zealand (with Māori and New Zealand Sign Language)
  • Nigeria (with Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba)
  • Pakistan (with Urdu as the national language)
  • Palau (with Palauan)
  • Papua New Guinea (with Tok Pisin and Hiri Motu)
  • Philippines (with Filipino)
  • Rwanda (with French and Kinyarwanda)
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Samoa (with Samoan)
  • Seychelles (with Seychellois Creole and French)
  • Sierra Leone
  • Singapore (with Chinese, Malay, Tamil)[24]
  • Sint Maarten (with Dutch)
  • Solomon Islands
  • Somaliland (with Arabic and Somali; independence is disputed)
  • South Africa (with Afrikaans, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu)[1]
  • South Sudan
  • Sri Lanka (with Sinhala and Tamil)
  • Sudan (with Arabic)
  • Tanzania (with Swahili)
  • Tonga (with Tongan)
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Tuvalu (with Tuvaluan)
  • Uganda (with Swahili)
  • United Kingdom (de facto; individual countries in the UK have statutorily defined official languages, but the UK as a whole does not)
  • United States (de facto; the United States nas no administratively mandated official language)
  • Vanuatu (with Bislama and French)[19]
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe (with Shona, Ndebele, Chewa, Chirbawe, Kalanga, Khoisan, Nambya, Ndau, Zimbabwean sign language, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa)[28]

Estonian:

  • Estonia

Ewe-Gbe:

  • Ghana (a government-sponsored language along with Akan (Akuapem Twi, Ashante Twi, Fante), Dagaare, Dagbani, Dangme Ga, Gonja, Kasem, Nzema, the official language is English)
  • Togo (with French and Kabye)

F[]

Fijian:

Filipino:

  • Philippines (with English)

Finnish:

  • Finland (with Swedish)

Fon-Gbe:

Foodo:

Formosan:

French (see also List of countries where French is an official language):

  • Belgium (official language with Dutch and German)
sole official language in:
co-official language in:
  • Brussels (with Dutch)
  • Benin (with several national languages: Aja-Gbe, Anii, Bariba, Biali, Boko, Dendi, Fon-Gbe, Foodo, Fula, Gen-Gbe, Lukpa, Mbelime, Nateni, Tammari, Waama, Waci-Gbe, Yobe, Yom, Xwela-Gbe, Yoruba)
  • Burkina Faso (with several national languages including Dioula, Fula, Mossi)
  • Burundi (with Kirundi)
  • Cameroon (with English)
  • Canada (with English)
    • Quebec (with limited English)
    • New Brunswick (with English)
    • Manitoba (with English)
    • Northwest Territories (with 10 others)
    • Yukon (with English)
    • Nunavut (with Inuit & English)
  • Central African Republic (with Sango)[38]
  • Chad (with Arabic)
  • Comoros (with Arabic and Comorian)
  • Ivory Coast
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Djibouti (with Arabic)
  • Equatorial Guinea (with Spanish and Portuguese)
  • France
    • French Guiana
    • French Polynesia
    • French Loyalty Islands
    • French Southern and Antarctic Lands
    • Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean
    • Guadeloupe
    • Martinique
    • Mayotte
    • New Caledonia
    • Réunion
    • Saint Barthélemy
    • Saint Martin
    • Saint Pierre and Miquelon
    • Wallis and Futuna
    • (Adelie Land)
    • (Clipperton Island)
  • Gabon
  • Guernesey (with English)
  • Guinea (with several national languages: Fula, Kissi, Kpelle, Malinke, Susu, Toma, Oniyan, Wamey)
  • Haiti (with Haitian Creole)[39]
  • Italy
    • Aosta Valley (with Italian)
  • Jersey (with English)
  • Luxembourg (with German and Luxembourgish)
  • Madagascar (with Malagasy)
  • Mali (with several national languages: Bambara, Bomu, Bozo, Dogon, Fula, Mamara, Songhay, Soninke, Syenara, Tamasheq)
  • Mauritius (with English)[36]
  • Monaco
  • Niger (with Arabic, Buduma, Fula, Gourmanché, Hausa, Kanuri, Songhay-Zarma, Tamasheq, Tasawaq, Tebu)[8]
  • Rwanda (with English and Kinyarwanda)
  • Senegal (with several national languages: Balanta, Bassari, Bedik, Fula, Hassaniya, Jola, Mandinka, Mandjak, Mankanya, Noon, Safen, Serer, Soninke, Wolof)
  • Seychelles (with Seychellois Creole and English)
  • Switzerland (National and official language with German, Italian, and (Romansh))[40]
Official language in:
  • Canton of Geneva
  • Canton of Vaud
  • Canton of Jura
  • Canton of Neuchâtel
  • Canton of Fribourg (with German)
  • Canton of Berne (with German)
  • Canton of Valais (with German)

Fula:

  • Benin (a national language along with Aja-Gbe, Anii, Bariba, Biali, Boko, Dendi, Fon-Gbe, Foodo, Gen-Gbe, Lukpa, Mbelime, Nateni, Tammari, Waama, Waci-Gbe, Yobe, Yom, Xwela-Gbe, Yoruba, the official languages is French)
  • Burkina Faso (a national language along with Dioula, Mossi and other languages, the official language is French)
  • Guinea (a national language along with Kissi, Kpelle, Malinke, Susu, Toma, Oniyan, Wamey, the official language is French)
  • Mali (a national language along with Bambara, Bomu, Bozo, Dogon, Mamara, Songhay, Soninke, Syenara, Tamasheq, the official language is French)
  • Mauritania (a national language along with Soninke, Wolof, the official language is Arabic)
  • Niger (with French, Arabic, Buduma, Gourmanché, Hausa, Kanuri, Songhay-Zarma, Tamasheq, Tasawaq, Tebu)[8]
  • Senegal (a national language along with Balanta, Bassari, Bedik, Hassaniya, Jola, Mandinka, Mandjak, Mankanya, Noon, Safen, Serer, Soninke, Wolof, the official language is French)

G[]

Ga:

  • Ghana (a government-sponsored language along with Akan (Akuapem Twi, Ashante Twi, Fante), Ewe-Gbe, Dagaare, Dagbani, Dangme, Gonja, Kasem, Nzema, the official language is English)

Gàidhlig:

  • Scotland (along with English and Scots)[41]

Gbe:

Gen-Gbe:

Georgian:

  • Georgia[42]
  • South Ossetia (with Ossetian and Russian; independence is disputed)[43]
  • Abkhazia (with Georgian according to the Georgian constitution; independence is disputed)[42]

German:

  • Austria (with Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene)
  • Belgium (official language with Dutch and French)
sole official language in:
Official language in 21 cantons:
  • 17 of the 26 cantons (monolingually German)
  • Canton of Grisons (with Italian and Romansh)
  • Canton of Berne (with French)
  • Canton of Fribourg (with French)
  • Canton of Valais (with French)

Gonja:

  • Ghana (a government-sponsored language along with Akan (Akuapem Twi, Ashante Twi, Fante), Ewe-Gbe, Dagaare, Dagbani, Dangme, Ga, Kasem, Nzema, the official language is English)

Gourmanché

  • Niger (with French, Arabic, Buduma, Fula, Hausa, Kanuri, Songhay-Zarma, Tamasheq, Tasawaq, Tebu)[8]

Greek:

  • Greece
  • Cyprus (with Turkish)[44]
  • Albania (Greek Minority Zone of Himara, Finiq and Dervican with Albanian)

Guaraní:

  • Paraguay (with Spanish)[45]
  • Bolivia (with Spanish, Quechua, Aymara and 33 other languages)[11]

Gujarati:

  • India

H[]

Haitian Creole:

  • Haiti (with French)[39]

Hakka:

Hassaniya:

  • Senegal (a national language along with Balanta, Bassari, Bedik, Fula, Jola, Mandinka, Mandjak, Mankanya, Noon, Safen, Serer, Soninke, Wolof, the official language is French)

Hausa:

Hebrew:

  • Israel (with Arabic)

Hindi:

  • India ("official language of the Union"; with English; 21 other regional languages namely Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Meitei (Manipuri), Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu[47])[48]
  • Fiji (with English and Bau Fijian; known constitutionally as Hindustani as an umbrella term to cover Urdu, as well as Hindi)[33]

Hiri Motu:

  • Papua New Guinea (with English and Tok Pisin)

Hungarian:

I[]

Igbo:

  • Nigeria (with English, Hausa and Yoruba)[46]

Icelandic:

  • Iceland

Indonesian:

  • Indonesia (a standardized dialect of Malay)[50]

Irish:

  • Republic of Ireland ("national"; with English being "second official")[34]

Italian:

  • Italy
  • Croatia
  • San Marino
  • Slovenia
    • Slovenian Istria (with Slovene)
  • Switzerland (National and official language with French, German, and (Romansh))[40]
Official language in:
  • Canton of Ticino
  • Canton of Grisons (with German and Romansh)
  • Vatican City (with Latin)

J[]

Japanese:

  • Japan (de facto)
  • Palau (Angaur)

Javanese:

  • native to Java; Indonesia

Jola:

  • Senegal (a national language along with Balanta, Bassari, Bedik, Fula, Hassaniya, Mandinka, Mandjak, Mankanya, Noon, Safen, Serer, Soninke, Wolof, the official language is French)

K[]

Kabye:

Kalanga:

Kannada:

  • India (with 21 other regional Languages, and with English as a link language)

Kanuri:

Kasem:

  • Ghana (a government-sponsored language along with Akan (Akuapem Twi, Ashante Twi, Fante), Ewe-Gbe, Dagaare, Dagbani, Dangme, Ga, Gonja, Nzema, the official language is English)

Kazakh:

  • Kazakhstan (with Russian)[51]

Khmer:

Kinyarwanda:

  • Rwanda (with French and English)

Kirundi:

  • Burundi (with French)

Kissi

  • Guinea (a national language along with Fula, Kpelle, Malinke, Susu, Toma, Oniyan, Wamey, the official language is French)

Khoisan:

Korean:

Korean Sign Language:

  • South Korea (with Korean)

Kpelle:

  • Guinea (a national language along with Fula, Kissi, Malinke, Susu, Toma, Oniyan, Wamey, the official language is French)

Kurdish:

  • Iraq (with Arabic)[6]

Kyrgyz:

  • Kyrgyzstan (with Russian)[54]

L[]

Lao:

  • Laos

Latvian:

  • Latvia

Lithuanian:

  • Lithuania

Lukpa:

Luxembourgish:

  • Luxembourg (with French and German)

M[]

Macedonian:

  • North Macedonia (with Albanian)

Malagasy:

  • Madagascar (with French)

Malay:

  • Malaysia (with de facto official language English)
  • Brunei
  • Singapore (with English, Chinese and Tamil)[24]
  • Indonesia (a standardized local dialect of Malay, but treated as the separate language in Indonesia)[50]

Malinke:

  • see Manding
  • Guinea (a national language along with Fula, Kissi, Kpelle, Susu, Toma, Oniyan, Wamey, the official language is French)

Maltese:

  • Malta (with English)

Mamara:

  • Mali (a national language along with Bambara, Bomu, Bozo, Dogon, Fula, Songhay, Soninke, Syenara, Tamasheq, the official language is French)

Manding (Mandinka, Malinke):

Mandinka:

Mandjak:

  • Senegal (a national language along with Balanta, Bassari, Bedik, Fula, Hassaniya, Jola, Mandinka, Mankanya, Noon, Safen, Serer, Soninke, Wolof, the official language is French)

Mankanya:

  • Senegal (a national language along with Balanta, Bassari, Bedik, Fula, Hassaniya, Jola, Mandinka, Mandjak, Noon, Safen, Serer, Soninke, Wolof, the official language is French)

Manx Gaelic:

  • Isle of Man (with English)

Māori:

  • New Zealand (with English and New Zealand Sign Language)

Marshallese:

  • Marshall Islands (with English)

Mauritian Creole

  • Mauritius

Mbelime:

Moldovan

  • Moldova (identical to Romanian; defined as Moldovan in the Moldovan constitution)[55]
  • Transnistria (Cyrillic alphabet is used; with Russian and Ukrainian; independence is disputed)[56]

Mongolian:

  • Mongolia

Montenegrin:

  • Montenegro

Mossi:

  • Burkina Faso (a national language along with Dioula, Fula and other languages, the official language is French)

N[]

Nambya:

Nateni:

Nauruan

  • Nauru (with English)

Ndau:

Ndebele (Northern):

Ndebele (Southern):

Nepali:

  • Nepal

New Zealand Sign Language:

  • New Zealand (with English and Māori)

Noon:

  • Senegal (a national language along with Balanta, Bassari, Bedik, Fula, Hassaniya, Jola, Mandinka, Mandjak, Mankanya, Safen, Serer, Soninke, Wolof, the official language is French)

Northern Sotho:

  • South Africa (with Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu)[1]

Norwegian:

  • Norway (two official written forms - Bokmål and Nynorsk)

Nzema:

  • Ghana (a government-sponsored language along with Akan (Akuapem Twi, Ashante Twi, Fante), Ewe-Gbe, Dagaare, Dagbani, Dangme, Ga, Gonja, Kasem, the official language is English)

O[]

Oniyan:

  • Guinea (a national language along with Fula, Kissi, Kpelle, Malinke, Susu, Toma, Wamey, the official language is French)

Oromo:

Ossetian:

  • South Ossetia (with Russian and Georgian; independence is disputed)[43]

P[]

Palauan:

  • Palau (with English)

Papiamento:

  • Aruba (with Dutch)
  • Curaçao (with Dutch and English)
  • Netherlands (Bonaire)

Pashto:

  • Afghanistan (with Dari in Afghanistan)[30]

Persian:

  • Iran
  • Afghanistan (called Dari in Afghanistan; with Pashto)[30]
  • Tajikistan (called Tajiki in Tajikistan; with Russian for "inter-ethnic communication")[58]

Polish:

  • Poland

Portuguese:

  • Angola
  • Brazil
  • Cape Verde
  • East Timor (with Tetum)
  • Equatorial Guinea (with Spanish and French)
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Macau (with Cantonese)
  • Mozambique
  • Portugal
  • São Tomé and Príncipe

Punjabi:

  • India

Q[]

Quechua:

  • Bolivia (with Spanish, Aymara, Guaraní and 33 other languages)[11]
  • Peru (with Spanish and Aymara)[12]

R[]

Romanian:

  • Romania
  • Moldova

Romansh:

  • National language in Switzerland (with German, French, and Italian)[40]
    • Official language in canton of Grisons (with German and Italian)[59]

Russian:

  • Russia (in some regions together with regional languages)[60]
  • Abkhazia (with Abkhaz according to the Abkhazian constitution;[61] independence is disputed)
  • Belarus (with Belarusian)[14]
  • Kazakhstan (with Kazakh)[51]
  • Kyrgyzstan (with Kyrgyz)[54]
  • South Ossetia (with Ossetian and Georgian; independence is disputed)[43]
  • Tajikistan ("inter-ethnic communication"; with Tajik)[58]
  • Transnistria (with Moldovan and Ukrainian; independence is disputed)[56]

S[]

Safen:

  • Senegal (a national language along with Balanta, Bassari, Bedik, Fula, Hassaniya, Jola, Mandinka, Mandjak, Mankanya, Noon, Serer, Soninke, Wolof, the official language is French)

Samoa

  • Samoa (with English)

Sango

  • Sao Pauloan Brazilian Portuguese (Portugues)
  • Central African Republic (with French)[38]

Sena:

Scots

  • Scotland (With English and Scots Gaelic)[41]

Serbian:

  • Serbia
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina (with Bosnian, Croatian) (de facto)[20]
  • Kosovo (independence is disputed; with Albanian)

Serer:

  • Senegal (a national language along with Balanta, Bassari, Bedik, Fula, Hassaniya, Jola, Mandinka, Mandjak, Mankanya, Noon, Safen, Soninke, Wolof, the official language is French)

Seychellois Creole

  • Seychelles (with French and English)

Shona:

Sinhala:

  • Sri Lanka (with Tamil, and with English as a link language)

Slovak:

  • Slovakia
  • Czech Republic[62]

Slovene:

  • Slovenia

Somali:

  • Djibouti (with Arabic, French, Afar)
  • Somalia (with Arabic)
  • Somaliland (with Arabic and English; independence is disputed)

Songhay-Zarma:

Soninke:

  • Mali (a national language along with Bambara, Bomu, Bozo, Dogon, Fula, Mamara, Songhay, Syenara, Tamasheq, the official language is French)
  • Mauritania (a national language along with Fula, Wolof, the official language is Arabic)
  • Senegal (a national language along with Balanta, Bassari, Bedik, Fula, Hassaniya, Jola, Mandinka, Mandjak, Mankanya, Noon, Safen, Serer, Wolof, the official language is French)

Sotho:

  • Lesotho (with English)
  • South Africa (with Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu)[1]

Spanish:

  • Argentina (de facto)
  • Bolivia (with Aymara, Quechua, Guaraní, and 33 other languages)[11]
  • Chile
    • Easter Island (with Rapa Nui)
  • Colombia
  • Costa Rica
  • Cuba
  • Dominican Republic
  • Ecuador (de facto)
  • El Salvador
  • Equatorial Guinea (with French and Portuguese)
  • Guatemala
  • Honduras
  • Mexico (de facto)
  • Nicaragua
  • Panama
  • Paraguay (with Guaraní)[45][63]
  • Peru (with Aymara, Quechua and other languages)[12]
  • Spain[64] (Aranese, Basque, Catalan, and Galician are co-official in some regions)
  • United States (in the US territory of Puerto Rico)
  • Uruguay (de facto)
  • Venezuela
  • Western Sahara (with Arabic)

Susu:

  • Guinea (a national language along with Fula, Kissi, Kpelle, Malinke, Toma, Oniyan, Wamey, the official language is French)

Swahili:

  • Kenya (with English)[65]
  • Rwanda (with English, French and Kinyarwanda)
  • Tanzania (de facto; with English)
  • Uganda (since 2005; with English)

Swati:

  • Eswatini (with English)
  • South Africa (with Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu)[1]

Swedish:

  • Sweden
  • Finland (with Finnish)
  • Åland Islands (monolingually Swedish) (an autonomous province under Finnish sovereignty)

Syenara:

T[]

Taiwan Sign Language:

Taiwanese Hokkien:

Tajik:

  • Tajikistan (a variant of Persian written in Cyrillic)[58]

Tagalog:

Tamasheq:

  • Mali (a national language along with Bambara, Bomu, Bozo, Dogon, Fula, Mamara, Songhay, Soninke, Syenara, the official language is French)
  • Niger (with French, Arabic, Buduma, Fula, Gourmanché, Hausa, Kanuri, Songhay-Zarma, Tasawaq, Tebu)[8]

Tamil:

  • India (with 21 other languages, and with English as a link language)
  • Singapore (with English, Chinese and Malay)[24]
  • Sri Lanka (with Sinhala, and with English as a link language)

Tammari:

Tasawaq:

Tebu:

Telugu:

  • India (with 21 other regional Languages, and with English as a link language)[citation needed]

Tetum:

  • East Timor (with Portuguese)

Thai:

  • Thailand

Tigrinya:

Tok Pisin:

  • Papua New Guinea (with English and Hiri Motu)

Toma:

  • Guinea (a national language along with Fula, Kissi, Kpelle, Malinke, Susu, Oniyan, Wamey, the official language is French)

Tonga:

Tongan

  • Tonga (with English)

Tsonga:

Tswana:

Turkish:

  • Turkey
  • Cyprus (with Greek)[44]
  • Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (independence disputed)

Turkmen:

  • Turkmenistan

Tuvaluan

  • Tuvalu (with English)

U[]

Ukrainian:

  • Ukraine
  • Transnistria (with Moldovan and Russian; independence is disputed)[56]

Urdu:

  • Pakistan (with English)
  • India (Urdu dialect and in script it is Sanscrit with 21 other regional languages, and with English as a link language)
  • Fiji (with English and Bau Fijian; known constitutionally as Hindustani as an umbrella term to cover Urdu, as well as Hindi.)

Uzbek:

  • Uzbekistan

V[]

Venda:

Vietnamese:

  • Vietnam

W[]

Waama:

Waci-Gbe:

Wamey:

  • Guinea (a national language along with Fula, Kissi, Kpelle, Malinke, Susu, Toma, Oniyan, the official language is French)

Welsh:

  • United Kingdom (limited de jure official status in Wales)[66]

Wolof:

  • Mauritania (a national language along with Fula, Soninke, the official language is Arabic)
  • Senegal (a national language along with Balanta, Bassari, Bedik, Fula, Hassaniya, Jola, Mandinka, Mandjak, Mankanya, Noon, Safen, Serer, Soninke, the official language is French)

X[]

Xhosa:

Xwela-Gbe:

Y[]

Yobe:

Yom:

Yoruba:

Z[]

Zimbabwean sign language:

Zulu:

  • South Africa (with Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa)[1]

Number of countries with the same official language[]

See also: List of languages by the number of countries in which they are recognized as an official language

This is a ranking of languages by number of sovereign countries in which they are de jure or de facto official (or with a national language status). An '*' (asterisk) indicates a country whose independence is disputed.

Language World Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania Countries
English 59 24 16 4 3 12 United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, India, Singapore, South Africa, Nigeria. See the full list
French 29 21 2 - 5 1 France, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Canada, Madagascar. See the full list
Arabic 27 14 - 13 - - Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Morocco. See the full list
Spanish 20 1 18 - 1 - Spain, Mexico, Equatorial Guinea, Easter Island in (Oceania). See the full list
Portuguese 10 6 1 2 1 1 Brazil, Portugal, Mozambique, Angola. See full list
Russian 8 - - 3 5 - Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Abkhazia*, South Ossetia*, Transnistria*. See also the full list
German 7 1 - - 6 - Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Namibia
Fula 7 7 - - - - Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal
Swahili 5 5 - - - - Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda
Italian 4 - - - 4 - Italy, San Marino, Switzerland, Vatican City
Malay 4 - - 4 - - Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei
Manding 4 4 - - - - Burkina Faso (Dioula), Guinea (Malinke), Mali (Bambara), Senegal (Maninka)
Northern Sami 4 - - - 4 - Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia
Danish 3 - 1 - 2 - Denmark, Faroe Island*, Greenland*
Dutch 3 - 1 - 2 - Netherlands, Belgium, Suriname
Gbe 3 3 - - - - Benin, Ghana, Togo
Mandarin Chinese 3 - - 3 - - China, Singapore, Taiwan*
Tamil 3 - - 3 - - India, Singapore, Sri Lanka
Persian 3 - - 3 - - Iran, Afghanistan (known as Dari), Tajikistan (known as Tajik)
Romanian 3 - - - 3 - Romania, Moldova, Transnistria*
Serbian 3 - - - 3 - Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*
Somali 3 3 - - - - Djibouti, Somalia, Somaliland*
Soninke 3 3 - - - - Mali, Mauritania, Senegal
Tswana 3 3 - - - - Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Turkish 3 - - - 3 - Turkey, Northern Cyprus* and Cyprus
Bengali 2 - 2 - - Bangladesh and India
Armenian 2 - - - 2 - Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh*
Aymara & Quechua 2 - 2 - - - Bolivia and Peru
Berber 2 2 - - - - Algeria and Morocco
Catalan 2 - - - 2 - Andorra and Spain
Chichewa 2 2 - - - - Malawi and Zimbabwe
Croatian 2 - - - 2 - Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Greek 2 - - - 2 - Greece and Cyprus
Hausa 2 2 - - - - Niger and Nigeria
Hindi 2 - - 1 - 1 India and Fiji
Korean 2 - - 2 - - North Korea and South Korea
Lingala 2 2 - - - - Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of the Congo
Nepali 2 - - 2 - - India and Nepal
Samoan 2 - - - - 2 American Samoa and Samoa
Slovak 2 - - - 2 - Slovakia and Czech Republic
Songhay-Zarma 2 2 - - - - Mali, Niger
Sotho 2 2 - - - - Lesotho and South Africa
Swati 2 2 - - - - Eswatini (Swaziland) and South Africa
Swedish 2 - - - 2 - Sweden and Finland
Tamasheq 2 2 - - - - Mali and Niger
Tigrinya 2 2 - - - - Eritrea and Ethiopia
Ukrainian 2 - - - 2 - Ukraine and Transnistria*
Venda 2 2 - - - - South Africa and Zimbabwe
Wolof 2 2 - - - - Mauritania and Senegal
Xhosa 2 2 - - - - South Africa and Zimbabwe
Guarani 2 - 2 - - - Paraguay and Bolivia
Bulgarian 1 - - - 1 - Bulgaria
Finnish 1 - - - 1 - Finland
Norwegian 1 - - - 1 - Norway
Icelandic 1 - - - 1 - Iceland

Official regional and minority languages[]

Abaza:

Adyghe:

  • Adygea (state language; with Russian)[68]

Aghul:

  • Dagestan (as one of the Dagestan peoples languages; with Russian)[69]

Aklanon:

  • Visayas (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Kinaray-a, Surigaonon, Tagalog, and Waray)[70]

Albanian:

  • Kosovo
  • North Macedonia (in some municipalities)
  • Montenegro (with Montenegrin, Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian)

Altay:

  • Altay, Republic of (state language; with Russian)[71]

Arabic:

  • Philippines (mainly in Mindanao)

Aranese see Occitan

Armenian:

  • Nagorno Karabagh

Assamese:

Avar:

  • Dagestan (as one of the Dagestan peoples languages; with Russian)[69]

Azeri:

  • Dagestan (as one of the Dagestan peoples languages; with Russian)[69]

Balkar:

Bashkir:

  • Bashkortostan (state language; with Russian)[73]

Basque:

  • Basque Autonomous Community (with Spanish)
  • Navarre (in some areas with Spanish)

Bengali:

  • India (as a "subsidiary official language"} and 20 other official languages; second most spoken Indian Language)
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Assam
    • Tripura
    • West Bengal

Bikol:

  • Luzon and Visayas (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Aklanon, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ibanag, Ilocano, Ivatan, Kapampangan, Kinaray-a, Pangasinan, Sambal, Surigaonon, Tagalog, and Waray)[70]

Bosnian:

  • part of Serbia
  • Montenegro (with Montenegrin, Albanian, Croatian and Serbian)

Buryat:

  • Buryatia (state language; with Russian)[74]
  • Zabaykalsky Krai
    • Agin-Buryat Okrug (authorized language)[75]

Cantonese Chinese:

  • China:
    • Some provinces Canton Province (with Mandarin)
    • Hong Kong (for Chinese language, Cantonese is spoken de facto; co-official with English)
    • Macau (for Chinese language, Cantonese is spoken de facto; co-official with Portuguese)

Catalan:

  • parts of Spain
    • Balearic Islands (with Spanish)
    • Catalonia (with Spanish)
    • Valencia (named as Valencian, with Spanish)
  • parts of France
  • parts of Italy
    • Alghero

Cebuano:

  • Luzon and Mindanao (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Aklanon, Bikol, Chavacano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Kinaray-a, Maguindanao, Maranao, Surigaonon, Tagalog, Tausug, Waray, and Yakan)[70]

Chavacano:

  • Mindanao (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Maguindanao, Maranao, Surigaonon, Tagalog, Tausug, and Yakan)[70]

Chechen:

  • Chechnya (state language; with Russian)[76]
  • Dagestan (as one of the Dagestan peoples languages; with Russian)[69]

Cherkess:

Cherokee:

  • Cherokee Nation tribal jurisdiction area in Oklahoma, United States.[77]

Chipewyan:

  • Northwest Territories (with Cree, English, French, Gwich'in, Innuinaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, North Slavey, South Slavey and Tłįchǫ (Dogrib))

Chukchi:

  • Sakha (local official language; in localities with Chukchi population)[78]

Chuvash:

  • Chuvashia (state language; with Russian)[79]

Cree:

  • Northwest Territories (with Chipewyan, English, French, Gwich'in, Innuinaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, North Slavey, South Slavey and Tłįchǫ (Dogrib))

Crimean Tatar

  • Crimea (with Russian and Ukrainian)

Croatian:

  • part of Austria
    • Burgenland (with German and Hungarian)*part of Italy
    • Molise[citation needed]
  • part of Serbia
    • Vojvodina (with Hungarian, Pannonian Rusyn, Romanian, Serbian and Slovak)
  • Montenegro (with Montenegrin, Albanian, Bosnian and Serbian)

Dargwa:

  • Dagestan (as one of the Dagestan peoples languages; with Russian)[69]

Dolgan:

  • Sakha (local official language; in localities with Dolgan population)[78]

Dutch:

  • The Nord-Pas-de-Calais (France) (French Flemish dialect with French, English for some part of the region)

English:

  • parts of Canada:
See also: Official language by province and [[:l1=Official language by province]]
  • Alberta
  • British Columbia
  • Manitoba (with French)
  • Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Saskatchewan
  • New Brunswick (with French)
  • Northwest Territories (with Chipewyan, Cree, French, Gwich'in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, Slavey (North and South) and Tłįchǫ)
  • Nunavut (with Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, and French)
  • Yukon (with French)
  • The United Kingdom:
  • England
  • Northern Ireland
  • Scotland
  • Wales
  • Isle of Man (with Manx Gaelic)
  • Guernsey (with French)
  • Jersey (with French)
  • parts of the United States. See English-only movement. English is an official language in the following states and territories:
    • Alabama
    • Alaska
    • Arkansas
    • California
    • Colorado
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Hawaii (with Hawaiian language)
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kentucky
    • Massachusetts
    • Minnesota
    • Mississippi
    • Montana
    • Nebraska
    • New Hampshire
    • North Carolina
    • North Dakota
    • Puerto Rico (with Spanish)
    • South Carolina
    • South Dakota (with Lakota & Dakota)
    • Texas
    • Tennessee
    • U.S. Virgin Islands
    • Utah
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
    • Wyoming

Erzya:

  • Mordovia (state language; with Moksha and Russian)[80]

Even:

  • Sakha (local official language; in localities with Even population)[78]

Evenki:

  • Sakha (local official language; in localities with Evenki population)[78]

Faroese:

  • Faroe Islands (with Danish)

Finnish:

  • Karelia (authorized language; with Karelian and Veps)[81]

French:

  • parts of Canada
  • New Brunswick (co-official with English)
  • Northwest Territories (with Chipewyan, Cree, English, Gwich'in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, Slavey (North and South) and Tłįchǫ)
  • Nunavut (with English, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut)
  • Quebec
  • Yukon (with English)
  • Guernsey (with English)
  • Jersey (with English)
  • Puducherry (co-official with Tamil in the Union Territory of Puducherry. Also Telugu and Malayalam are its regional official languages)
  • part of Italy
    • Aosta (co-official with Italian)
  • part of United States with Louisiana

Frisian (West):

  • The Netherlands: co-official in the province of Friesland (with Dutch)

Friulian:

  • The Friuli region of northeastern Italy

Gagauz:

  • Gagauzia (Moldova) (with Russian)

Galician:

  • part of Spain
    • Galicia (with Spanish)

German:

  • Italy
    • South Tyrol (together with Italian and Ladin)

Greek:

  • parts of south Albania
  • parts of south Italy
    • Salento (Grecia Salentina, together with Italian)
    • Calabria (Bovesia, together with Italian)

Guaraní:

  • Bolivia
  • Paraguay
  • in Argentina
    • Corrientes Province (co-official with Spanish)

Gujarati:

  • India (with 21 other regional languages)
    • Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
    • Gujarat

Gwich'in:

  • Northwest Territories (with Cree, Chipewyan, English, French, Innuinaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, North Slavey, South Slavey and Tłįchǫ (Dogrib))

Hawaiian:

  • Hawaii (with English)

Hiligaynon:

  • Visayas and Mindanao (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Aklanon, Bikol, Cebuano, Chavacano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Kinaray-a, Maguindanao, Maranao, Surigaonon, Tagalog, Tausug, Waray, and Yakan)[70]

Hindi:

  • India (with 21 other regional languages)
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Delhi Territory
    • Haryana
    • Jharkhand
    • Madhya Pradesh
    • Rajasthan
    • Uttarakhand
    • Uttar Pradesh

Hungarian:

  • part of Serbia
    • Vojvodina (with Croatian, Serbian, Romanian, Slovak and Ruthenian)
  • part of Romania
  • part of Slovenia
  • part of Croatia
  • part of Slovakia
  • part of Austria

Ibanag:

  • Luzon (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Bikol, Ilocano, Ivatan, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, Sambal, and Tagalog)[70]

Ilocano:

  • Luzon and Mindanao (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Bikol, Cebuano, Chavacano, Hiligaynon, Ibanag, Ilocano, Ivatan, Kapampangan, Maguindanao, Maranao, Pangasinan, Sambal, Surigaonon, Tagalog, Tausug, and Yakan.)[70]

Ingush:

  • Ingushetia (state language; with Russian)[82]

Inuinnaqtun:

  • Northwest Territories (with Cree, Chipewyan, English, French, Gwich'in, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, North Slavey, South Slavey and Tłįchǫ (Dogrib))
  • Nunavut (with English, French, and Inuktitut)

Inuktitut:

  • Nunavut (with English, French, and Inuinnaqtun)
  • Northwest Territories (with Cree, Chipewyan, English, French, Gwich'in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuvialuktun, North Slavey, South Slavey and Tłįchǫ (Dogrib))

Inuvialuktun:

  • Northwest Territories (with Cree, Chipewyan, English, French, Gwich'in, Innuinaqtun, Inuktitut, North Slavey, South Slavey and Tłįchǫ (Dogrib))

Irish:

  • Northern Ireland (United Kingdom) (along with Ulster Scots and English)

Italian:

  • part of Croatia
    • Istria county (with Croatian)
  • part of Slovenia
    • Izola, Koper and Piran municipalities (with Slovene)

Ivatan:

  • Luzon (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Bikol, Ibanag, Ilocano, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, Sambal, and Tagalog)[70]

Japanese:

  • Part of Palau
    • Angaur (with English)

Kabardian:

Kalaallisut:

  • Greenland

Kalmyk:

  • Kalmykia (state language; with Russian)[83]

Kannada:

  • India (with 21 other regional languages)

Kapampangan:

  • Luzon (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Bikol, Ilocano, Ibanag, Ivatan, Pangasinan, Sambal, and Tagalog)[70]

Karachay:

Karelian:

  • Karelia (authorized language; with Finnish and Veps)[81]

Kashmiri:

Kazakh:

  • Republic of Altay (official language; in localities with Kazakh population)[84]
  • part of the People's Republic of China
    • Ili, with Chinese (Mandarin)
    • Barkol, with Chinese (Mandarin)
    • Mori, with Chinese (Mandarin)
  • part of Mongolia
    • , with Mongolian

Khakas:

Khanty:

Kinaray-a:

  • Visayas (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Aklanon, Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Surigaonon, Tagalog, and Waray)[70]

Komi:

Komi-Permyak:

Korean:

Kumyk:

  • Dagestan (as one of the Dagestan peoples languages; with Russian)[69]

Kyrgyz:

Lak:

  • Dagestan (as one of the Dagestan peoples languages; with Russian)[69]

Lezgian:

  • Dagestan (as one of the Dagestan peoples languages; with Russian)[69]

Macedonian

  • part of Albania
  • part of Serbia

Maguindanao:

  • Mindanao (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Cebuano, Chavacano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Maranao, Surigaonon, Tagalog, Tausug, and Yakan)[70]

Malayalam:

  • India (with 21 other regional languages)
    • Kerala
    • Puducherry
    • Lakshadweep

Mansi:

Maranao:

  • Mindanao (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Cebuano, Chavacano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Maguindanao, Surigaonon, Tagalog, Tausug, and Yakan)[70]

Marathi:

  • India (with 21 other regional languages)
    • Maharashtra
    • Goa
    • Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu

Mari (Hill and Meadow):

  • Mari El (state language; with Russian)[90]

Mayan:

  • Mexico (*only recognized)
  • Guatemala (*only recognized)
  • Belize (*only recognized)
  • Honduras (*only recognized)
  • El Salvador (*only recognized)

Moksha:

  • Mordovia (state language; with Erzya and Russian)[80]

Mongolian:

  • part of the People's Republic of China
    • Inner Mongolia, with Chinese (Mandarin)
    • Haixi, with Tibetan and Chinese (Mandarin)
    • Bortala, with Chinese (Mandarin)
    • Bayin'gholin, with Chinese (Mandarin)
    • Dorbod, with Chinese (Mandarin)
    • Qian Gorlos, with Chinese (Mandarin)
    • Harqin Left, with Chinese (Mandarin)
    • Fuxin, with Chinese (Mandarin)
    • Weichang, with Chinese (Mandarin)
    • Subei, with Chinese (Mandarin)
    • Henan, with Chinese (Mandarin)

Náhuatl:

  • Mexico (*only recognized)
  • El Salvador (*only recognized)

Nenets:

Nepali:

  • India (with 21 other regional languages)

Nogai:

  • Dagestan (as one of the Dagestan peoples languages; with Russian)[69]
  • Karachay–Cherkessia (state language; with Abaza, Cherkess, Karachay and Russian)[67]

Occitan:

  • Catalonia, with Catalan and Spanish)

Odia:

  • India (with 21 other regional languages)
    • Odisha

Ossetic (Digor and Iron dialects):

  • North Ossetia—Alania (state language; with Russian)[91]

Pangasinan:

  • Luzon (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Bikol, Ibanag, Ilocano, Ivatan, Kapampangan, Sambal, and Tagalog)[70]

Portuguese:*part of the People's Republic of China

  • Macau (with Chinese)

Punjabi:

  • India (with 21 other regional languages)
    • Punjab
    • Delhi

Romanian:

  • Vojvodina (with Croatian, Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak and Ruthenian)

Russian. Russian is fixed as a state language in the Constitutions of the republics of the Russian Federation:

  • Adygea (state language; with Adyghe)[68]
  • Altay, Republic of (state language; with Altay)[71]
  • Bashkortostan (state language; with Bashkir)[73]
  • Buryatia (state language; with Buryat)[74]
  • Chechnya (state language; with Chechen)[76]
  • Chuvashia (state language; with Chuvash)[79]
  • Dagestan (state language; with the languages of the Dagestan peoples)[69]
  • Ingushetia (state language; with Ingush)[82]
  • Kabardino-Balkaria (state language; with Balkar and Kabardian)[72]
  • Kalmykia (state language; with Kalmyk)[83]
  • Karachay–Cherkessia (state language; with Abaza, Cherkess, Karachay and Nogai)[67]
  • Karelia (state language)[92]
  • Khakassia (state language; with Khakas)[85]
  • Komi (state language; with Komi)[88]
  • Mari El (state language; with Mari (Hill and Meadow))[90]
  • Mordovia (state language; with Erzya and Moksha)[80]
  • North Ossetia—Alania (state language; with Ossetic)[91]
  • Sakha (state language; with Sakha)[93]
  • Tatarstan (state language; with Tatar)[94]
  • Tyva (state language; with Tuvan)[95]
  • Udmurtia (state language; with Udmurt)[96]
  • Russian (with Gagauz) is an official language of Gagauzia (autonomous republic within Moldova)

Rusyn:

  • Vojvodina (with Croatian, Serbian, Romanian, Hungarian, Slovak)
  • Ukraine
    • Zakarapts'ka region (with Ukrainian, Hungarian)

Rutul:

  • Dagestan (as one of the Dagestan peoples languages; with Russian)[69]

Sakha:

  • Sakha (state language; with Russian)[93]

Sambal:

  • Luzon (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Bikol, Ibanag, Ilocano, Ivatan, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, and Tagalog)[70]

Sami:

  • Finland (in four municipalities)
  • Norway (in six municipalities in two provinces)
  • Sweden (in four municipalities and surrounding municipalities)

Sanskrit:

  • India (with 21 other regional languages)

Saraiki

  • Pakistan

Sarikoli:

Selkup:

Serbian:

Sindhi:

  • India (with 21 other regional languages)
  • Pakistan (Official language in the Province of Sindh along with Urdu and English)

North and South Slavey:

  • Northwest Territories (with Cree, Chipewyan, English, French, Gwich'in, Innuinaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, and Tłįchǫ (Dogrib))

Slovak:

  • part of Serbia
  • Vojvodina (with Croatian, Serbian, Hungarian, Romanian and Ruthenian)

Slovene:

  • part of Italy
    • Friuli-Venezia Giulia (with Italian, Friulian and German)
  • part of Austria
    • Carinthia (with German)

Spanish:

  • New Mexico (spoken with English)
  • Puerto Rico (with English)
  • Philippines (mainly as Chavacano in Mindanao)
  • El Cenizo, Texas[100]

Surigaonon:

  • Visayas and Mindanao (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Aklanon, Bikol, Cebuano, Chavacano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Kinaray-a, Maguindanao, Maranao, Tagalog, Tausug, Waray, and Yakan)[70]

Tabasaran:

  • Dagestan (as one of the Dagestan peoples languages; with Russian)[69]

Tagalog:

  • Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Aklanon, Bikol, Cebuano, Chavacano, Hiligaynon, Ibanag, Ilocano, Ivatan, Kapampangan, Kinaray-a, Maguindanao, Maranao, Pangasinan, Sambal, Surigaonon, Tausug, Waray, and Yakan)[70]

Tahitian:

  • French Polynesia (with French)

Tamil:

  • India (with 21 other regional languages)
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Puducherry
    • Tamil Nadu
  • Sri Lanka
  • Singapore

Tat:

  • Dagestan (as one of the Dagestan peoples languages; with Russian)[69]

Tatar:

  • Tatarstan (state language; with Russian)[94]

Tausug:

  • Mindanao (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Cebuano, Chavacano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Maguindanao, Surigaonon, Tagalog, Maranao, and Yakan)[70]

Telugu:

  • India (with 21 other regional languages)
    • Andhra Pradesh
    • Telangana
    • Puducherry
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Tibetan:

  • Tibet Autonomous Region (with Chinese (Mandarin))
  • Aba (with Chinese (Mandarin))
  • Garzê (with Chinese (Mandarin))
  • Diqing (with Chinese (Mandarin))
  • Wenshan (with Chinese (Mandarin))
  • Gannan (with Chinese (Mandarin))
  • Haibai (with Chinese (Mandarin))
  • Hainan (with Chinese (Mandarin))
  • Huangnan (with Chinese (Mandarin))
  • Golog (with Chinese (Mandarin))
  • Gyêgu (with Chinese (Mandarin))
  • Haixi (with Mongolian and Chinese (Mandarin))
  • Muli (with Chinese (Mandarin))
  • Tianzhu (with Chinese (Mandarin))

Tłįchǫ:

  • Northwest Territories (with Cree, Chipewyan, English, French, Gwich'in, Innuinaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, North Slavey, and South Slavey)

Tsakhur:

  • Dagestan (as one of the Dagestan peoples languages; with Russian)[69]

Tswana:

  • South Africa (with Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu)

Turkish:

Tuvan:

  • Tyva (state language; with Russian)[95]

Udmurt:

  • Udmurtia (state language; with Russian)[96]

Urdu:

  • Pakistan (with English as co-official language)
  • India (with 21 other regional languages)
    • Jammu and Kashmir
    • Delhi Territory
    • Uttar Pradesh state
    • Bihar state
    • Andhra Pradesh mainly in Hyderabad (former princely state of Nizam) and adjacent areas of Maharashtra and Karnataka

Uyghur:

  • Xinjiang (with Chinese (Mandarin))

Veps:

  • Karelia (authorized language; with Finnish and Karelian)[81]

Vietnamese:

  • Guangxi Province, China (some regional status)
  • Part of Cambodia
  • Part of Laos

Waray:

  • Visayas (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Aklanon, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Kinaray-a, and Tagalog)[70]

Welsh:

  • Wales (United Kingdom) (with English)

Yakan:

  • Mindanao (Philippines) (with Filipino, English, Cebuano, Chavacano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Maguindanao, Maranao, Surigaonon, Tagalog, and Tausug)[70]

Yiddish:

  • Russia (only in Jewish Autonomous Oblast, with Russian)

Yukaghir:

  • Sakha (local official language; in localities with Yukaghir population)[78]

Zhuang:

  • Guangxi (with Chinese (Mandarin))
  • Lianshan (with Chinese (Mandarin))

Official languages of supra-national institutions[]

Different organisations sometimes refer to their principal languages of administration and communication as "working languages", whilst others refer to these as being "official".

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ The sovereignty of Kosovo is disputed. See International recognition of Kosovo.

References[]

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  49. ^ Article H. Fundamental Law of Hungary
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  52. ^ Article 5. Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia
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  54. ^ Jump up to: a b (in Russian) Статья 10. Конституция Кыргызской Республики
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  62. ^ Slovak language is defined as official language together with Czech language by several laws - e.g. law 500/2004, 337/1992. Source: http://portal.gov.cz. Cited: "Například Správní řád (zákon č. 500/2004 Sb.) stanovuje: "V řízení se jedná a písemnosti se vyhotovují v českém jazyce. Účastníci řízení mohou jednat a písemnosti mohou být předkládány i v jazyce slovenském..." (§16, odstavec 1). Zákon o správě daní a poplatků (337/1992 Sb.) „Úřední jazyk: Před správcem daně se jedná v jazyce českém nebo slovenském. Veškerá písemná podání se předkládají v češtině nebo slovenštině..." (§ 3, odstavec 1). http://portal.gov.cz
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